In today’s world, it can be very easy to focus on the things we don’t have rather than pay thanks to the things that we do have. Indeed, that’s when keeping a gratitude journal comes in to play. Not only does it take the focus off our unnecessary wants, it gives us a reason to reflect on all of the good things in our lives. And you shouldn’t limit the project to just yourself. Instead, involve the whole family and let the gratitude journal your children keep become a way to show them what is truly important in their lives.

Keeping a gratitude journal makes it easier to focus on priorities. It shows us how our past wants were achieved or dismissed and it gives us an idea of what areas of our lives are good and which areas need improvement. For example, we may have created a good career, but haven’t kept the friends from our past as close as we would have liked to. The gratitude journal can help us find a way to reconnect with our old gang and find ways to let them know how much that part of your life meant to you.

Narrato’s user-interface is simple, uncluttered black text on white background. Don’t look for too much color from here on though. Set up your account with an email and a password for security. I know, its pretty light-weight, but it is security. On the first entry page, pressing the down arrow in the left corner opens the main menu consisting of user-customizable icons. Day-by-Day (calendar) opens to your on-going journal entries with the most recent up top (thank you!). It also shows where you are (town), the temp plus the weather, and a few navigational tips. If you had added an avatar in the account set-up your little clip art or picture would be viewable here, too. Clicking the down arrow again brings back the menu which also includes Journals (notebook), Settings (gears), the Store (ribbon) and About (question mark inside a circle). I usually hit up the Settings immediately to see just how much customization can be done, and it was adequate. Setting the temp to Fahrenheit, as opposed to Celsius or Kelvin (really?) led me on a Wikipedia chase to hunt down Kelvin and make sure it wasn’t an R&B music artist from the 70’s. But that’s just me.

Our introduction to “Thoughtree” was a beta version of a “personal thought network”, described by its award winning developer, Jude Abeler, as “drop dead simple”. That is an understatement. In its concept, Thoughtree is decidedly uncomplicated, and yet visually appealing. Its black and white design is the very essence of “simple”.

If anyone comes to me and tells me journaling is so important to them that they just want the best option, regardless of price, I almost always point them in the direction of either Penzu or LDS Journal. These two online journaling services offer more features than most and are available from nearly every platform. Penzu is more widely known and used, but LDS Journal was actually my first eJournal and is a beautiful Penzu alternative. In fact, LDS Journal’s print feature is probably the number one single feature any eJournal has that I am aware of. I even did a video review when I received mine.

Penzu, on the other hand, is a feature-filled monster. From military-grade encryption, multiple journals, prompts and fonts aplenty, this online journal has almost anything you would want along with somethings you didn’t even know you needed. The downside to Penzu- as well as LDS Journal- is the lackluster mobile interface. Sure you can journal from smartphones for either of these, but you probably won’t want to.

Among journal apps, there are features that matter and features that don’t. Of course it would be absolutely awesome (and entirely possible) to have pretty much all of the features from insignificant to vital, but I am yet to find that app. So instead it is important to find the features that are most important to us and make sure the journal we choose has most of them.

Day One has most of them, for me anyways. And the ones that aren’t available are on tap for inclusion in future releases. The proactive mindset that the developer Bloom Built has makes me feel more comfortable about Day One being “future proof” (or at least “future resistant”).

Instead of the more classic feel that Momento and Molenotes opt for, Day One chooses a clean and modern look. Styling is consistent and the different elements match well. Of course there isn’t an option to change the theme if you are into that (though the most recent update brought different font sizes), but the light blue throughout stays with the branding. Oh, and the icon is one of the best.

It’s been a while, but a few months ago I wrote about an interesting little diary/notebook app for the iPhone called Meernotes when it first came out (it was initially called Molenotes). I gave it fairly high praises and it has seen similar respect from other critics and users alike. Unlike other digital writing mediums where every page is essentially unlimited, Meernotes strives to actually duplicate a little notebook by only allowing you to write a certain amount of words on each page. After that you can turn the page (which, fortunately, seem to be unlimited) and continue your thought.

Not only are these pages and notebooks gorgeous, but you can keep multiple journals and store them on a built-in bookshelf. It also includes Dropbox syncing, several fonts, bookmarking, indexing, tabbing and more.

Even though I quickly fell in love with Meernotes, there were a few missing features that prevented me from making it into my daily journal. Most notably was the missing password as I would never even start a journal/diary without one. There also isn’t any way to insert pictures into entries and PDF export would be nice. Basically, Meernotes is really as close as you can to having a little notebook on your iPhone and doesn’t really try and be a true diary, and that’s okay.

Here at Easy Journaling we discuss a variety of devices that have transformed the possibilities to keep a journal or diary. Whether it be the iPhone, iPad, Android device, Blackberry or even laptops and computers, these electronic goodies have changed the way I journal and I hope they have for you as well.

You may have seen in the news recently stories of how the workers who make these devices do so in terrible conditions and never even get to enjoy the benefits they offer. Perhaps you saw the story of the woman who makes iPads every day and then actually saw a fully functioning one for the first time and was blown away. Or maybe you saw how high the suicide rate is at Foxconn (a factory that makes, among other things, iPhones) or how the workers have even staged threats of suicide if the way they are treated isn’t changed.

Photo Credit – Nicolas Raymond

In the world we live in- one where we only read the headlines and tweet our reactions immediately without further details- it is easy to get upset about this situation. How can we be blindly using our precious smartphones only at the sacrifice, sweat and tears of others? How can Apple even consider having their products made in such conditions? How dare they!

I am a huge fan of innovation. I would much rather watch a movie, read a book or play a game that tries something new- even if it is risky. Unfortunately the general population disagrees and seems to prefer proven formulas. The result is blockbuster remakes of the same movies (with 3 sequels) and 50 solid selling Angry Birds clones smartphone games.

Because of this, I like one of the newest additions to the iPhone journal scene: My iStory. The organization is accomplished by 5 icons at the bottom of the screen: Diary, Calendar, Galleries, Books and Slideshows. Diary is where you make traditional entries with text. Pictures can be included to these entries and can also be tagged. There is also an interesting function where you can add thought or speech bubbles to these pictures if you would like. Calendar view shows the days that have entries. Galleries show your pictures after you have organized them with tags. Search is also included which is also nice to see.

The books and slideshow section is where Marian Skehill really rewrote the script. I have mentioned several times that perhaps my favorite eJournal feature is the ability to export to PDF. The books section of MyiStory allows you to build a PDF of your entries, right within the app! From here you can view this PDF in iBooks or other apps or even export via email. While I am so excited about this function, it only includes the pictures and none of the text so unfortunately, at this point, this PDF won’t be a very good representation of your journal.

Fresh into the app store is a hybrid journal/social media application called Loccit. It utilizes the features I often preach about such as security and media import while also integrating seamlessly into your journal. When it is all said and done you can either make your journal from scratch, entry by entry; you can have Loccit fill your journal up for you by compiling tweets, Facebook updates and more or you can do any combination of the two into a unique social, but still private and secure (if that even makes sense) journal/diary. Oh, and that killer feature that I have only see one other digital journal (LDS Journal) have? With Loccit you can print copies of your journal!

Read on to see some of the features and be sure to catch the intro video as well.

You’re already writing it…

Every time you update Facebook or Twitter, watch a video on YouTube, listen to Last.fm or add an event, you’re telling the story of your life. We pull the story together for you and create your Loccit diary.

An interesting thing about Apple’s App Store is that critics are constantly saying that every genre is full and that it is ignorant to believe that a new app will break the ranks of the best.

I think I have even said that.

And then you get an app like Wonderful Days by HandyPadSoft, released more than three years after the App Store was started yet still finding ways to push the envelope and compete with the best journals available for the iPhone. Like the best apps, it is simple, beautiful and functional at the surface, but if you dig a little deeper you realize that this simple diary has nearly every feature you would want/need.

The interface is clean with light shades with search and add entry icons at the top and five icons on the bottom: calendar, map, view, sync and more information. The default view is to see the most recent entries in snippet form, but you can also view the entries as thumbnails or also pictures.

Although a journal/diary app can be nothing more than a text entry mechanism with a password, there have to be features included that not only make it functional, but also set it apart in a rather crowded genre.

Momento tries to retain the simplicity that you want while tossing in a bunch of features you didn’t even know you needed. The first impression is the gorgeous, consistent interface. Colors match and a modern/classic feel is achieved.

When you first make an entry, you may be a little confused as to why there are so many buttons. This is because entries represent more than just text with Momento. You can add people, events and places, as well as tags and pictures. These can be customized and people are added straight from your contacts. Pictures can be imported from your camera roll or a new one can be taken. Each day can also be given an overall rating.

Landscape is supported, which is essential. The calendar is also clean and simple and highlights what activities you entered on a given day. The front screen shows your recent entries at a glance.

Recording one’s life events has nearly paralleled humanity in its entirety. Many of the religious books we use today, including the Bible, are a compilation (at least in part) of personal journals. As long as a writing utensil and medium have been available, humans have written down their history. Even today, many faithful journal keepers prefer the intimacy of a physical book to write in.

Journaling has only moved past ink and paper in the last few decades. The personal computer made digitally stored journals and diaries a reality in the 70’s. In the 90’s, the Internet was a major catalyst for the possibilities of how, when and where you could update your journal.

About Easy Journaling

Not too long ago, my friend Sam threw down the proverbial gauntlet, and challenged me to discover for myself whether all the great benefits I'd experienced in 30 years of journal writing could still be achieved using a keyboard instead of a pen and paper. To my astonishment, I found even MORE than expected.
Since then, I started building this site to help you find the best digital journaling apps, services, tips and tricks. We are always trying to improve our own personal journals and are committed to helping you reach your journaling goals.
Easy Journaling is a companion to Nathan Ohren's Write4Life website at www.Write4Life.us. Join us there for more tips, tools, podcasts, and courses on journaling!